kindtree.org links

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Update: Jerry Seinfeld has since stated that he is not autistic. I don't know why he reversed his previous statement, nor will I speculate. However, I still stand by what I wrote here.

Last Thursday,
comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the ranks of certain other
celebrities, such as Dan Aykroyd, George Harrison, and Daryl Hannah.
He stated in an interview with Brian Williams on NBC's Nightly News
that he believes that he has some form of autism.

When asked what
markers led him to this conclusion, Seinfeld responded “Never
paying attention to the right things. Basic social engagement is
really a struggle. I'm very literal. When people talk to me and they
use expressions, sometimes I don't know what they're saying.” These
are all common traits among autistic people.

To be honest, this
doesn't come as a surprise to me. I've long suspected that Jerry
Seinfeld may be on the autism spectrum. However, before I continue, I
want to stress that I am in no way qualified to make an autism
diagnosis. Even if I were, it would be highly irresponsible of me to
do so on this platform. Everything I say about Seinfeld from this
point on is purely for the purpose of mental exercise.

Now that that's out
of the way, let's move on to what I've noticed about Seinfeld. First,
his material tends to be very logical, even for observational humor.
The neuronormal human brain does not naturally process logic. That
seems to be the domain of other neurotypes, such as autism. This by
itself, of course doesn't mean much. Just as many autistic people are
capable of learning social norms, most neuronormal people are also
capable of learning logic.

More relevant are
his speech patterns and mannerisms. Both tend to be slightly robotic.
His facial expressions, while they do change, seem a lot more static
than most people's. He also has a very slightly monotone voice,
except for that tone that can mean almost anything, made famous on
his self-titled sitcom. I've heard variations on that tone, without
any intent to reference the TV show, from many of my autistic
friends.

Of course, none of
these things on their own would necessarily point to autism. However,
the combination of all of them starts to make it look very likely.
These are also some of the things I tend to notice in other autistic
people.

As far as I know,
Jerry Seinfeld has not received an official diagnosis. So how can we
be certain he is autistic? With most adult diagnoses, a
self-diagnosis is the first step. Very few people, in fact, have any
cause to take action that might lead to an autism diagnosis prior to
noticing it in themselves. In his case, he's learned a lot about the
condition. Along the way, he started noticing traits in himself.

The next step would
of course be to visit a professional to get their opinion. I feel
it's worth saying that I don't remember ever talking to anyone who
self-identified as autistic, and was told by a professional that they
weren't. Additionally, there is currently no objective test for
autism. A diagnosis is given purely on the basis of the examiner's
opinion. Further, a professional diagnosis is acknowledged to be only
around 90% accurate. For these reasons, I don't feel a professional
diagnosis is necessary, unless the recipient plans to apply for
benefits.

In fact, many
self-identified autistic adults never seek a professional diagnosis.
Whether Jerry Seinfeld seeks one or not is entirely up to him. The
truth of the matter is that most of us in the autistic community will
usually accept a self-diagnosis as being no less valid than a
professional one.

I think we can also
use Jerry Seinfeld's story to help dispel a few stereotypes of
autistic people. The most obvious is that autistic people have no
sense of humor. The fact that he's a comedian says all I need to say
about that one. Additionally, some will say that a self-diagnosis of
autism or Asperger's syndrome is often adopted to explain why a
person's life has failed. While this, unfortunately, has been known
to happen on occasion, I don't think there will be much disagreement
that there is some other reason in this case.

Seinfeld has also
said of his own suspected autism, “I don't see it as dysfunctional.
I just think of it as an alternative mindset.” This is the
predominant view taken by most autistic people, including very
severely autistic people. The point is the idea that autistic people
can quite often live full, normal, and productive lives.

I would like to
extend a thank you to Jerry Seinfeld for having the courage to
publicly declare his autism. Awareness of severely autistic people
will never go away, and the need for autism supports will never end.
I hope, though, that a person like Jerry Seinfeld can help to bring
light to the diversity within the autistic community.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Yesterday was the
fourth anniversary of an event hosted on Facebook called
Communication Shutdown. Facebook users were encouraged to go one day
without logging into their accounts. The intent behind Communication
Shutdown was to raise autism awareness by sharing in the experience
of being unable to communicate. However, many of us in the autistic
community found this event to be highly insulting for multiple
reasons.

To start, few things
have been more helpful to the autistic community than social media.
The internet, including social websites like Facebook, has allowed us
to find each other. We have used it to share coping strategies, learn
how to navigate the neuronormal world, exchange ideas to be heard,
and reassure each other that there are others like us in the world.
Encouraging abstinence from this mechanism is a poor way to celebrate
these accomplishments.

Probably the more
obvious insult is the implication that autistic people don't
communicate. It's true that we have difficulties with social
interaction, but social interaction is different from communication.
In fact, even completely nonverbal individuals are fully capable of
communication. To the extent that our attempts fail, it's usually due
to those attempts being ignored or not noticed.

To my knowledge,
Communication Shutdown has not continued after its first year. Maybe
it was due to the backlash from the autistic community. Perhaps it
was only planned to be a one-day event from the beginning.

So, why should I
bring this up now, four years later? Mostly, it's to talk about the
response from the autistic community, which has lasted much longer.
Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of Communication Shutdown, but
it was also the fourth anniversary of Autistics Speaking Day.

Autistics Speaking
Day is an annual event that takes place on November 1st
each year, the same date as the event that inspired it. It was
created as a positive, educational alternative to Communication
Shutdown. Not simply a push back, but something to fill the resulting
void if that push back were successful.

Autistics Speaking
Day was created to show that autistic people can and do communicate.
What's more, we have a lot to say. The day was created for us to rise
up, either in real life or behind our keyboards, and say “I'm
autistic, and I will be heard!” Many of these messages are placed
under the easy to find heading of “Autistics Speaking Day.”

Worthy of note is
that much of what is said on Autistics Speaking Day is at odds with
what we are told by the media. The reason is simple. What is said by
autistic people is not filtered through experts trying to make sense
of what they are seeing. It comes straight from the minds that they
are speaking about.

I try to keep a
writing schedule, mostly to make things easier for me. (I always post
on the first and third Sundays of each month.) This time, it did
cause me to be a day late for the event. However, all of the Autistic
Speaking Day writing should still be present.

Now log on to your
favorite search engine and search for “Autistic Speaking Day” to
see what the autistic community has to say.

Welcome!

KindTree - Autism Rocks is dedicated to Serving and Celebrating People on the Autism Spectrum through Art, Recreation and Community. With warm hearted whimsy, an open sense of family and a deep level of caring, we reach inside ourselves to embrace our flaws, gather our strengths, and offer our love while reaching out to people on the autism spectrum, their families and care givers. Through the power of self-advocacy in an atmosphere of acceptance and respect, autistic and neuro-normal people alike can work toward self-realization.

If you would like to be a blogger here, too, and post your own topic, just e-mail Tim@kindtree.org . He will get back to you soon.